The Cross Murders
by balrogtweety01
Summary: Gibbs and Tony are called back to solve a murder: Ziva's. This is a series starting with Case Closed and Handle with Care.


**This story is sort of a cross over with Queer As Folk. Brian and Justin are in the story a little bit in the beginning and a little bit at the end. The story is based on Ziva's death. I hated the way they portrayed her character so I killed her off in this one. Sorry Ziva fans.**

 **DISCLAIMER; As Always I do not own NCIS but love playing with their characters.**

 **THE CROSS MURDERS**

Jet was reading the Washington Post while drinking his coffee. He loved mornings like this when it was quiet. A couple of hours ago, Katie woke up and Jet fed her a bottle. After ten months of having her, he fell more in love with her everyday.

He knew she couldn't replace Kelly but Katie was her own little person. She had a personality that if she saw you in a grumpy mood, she knew just how to cheer you up. Katie was always a happy baby. Jet knew that she would be up in less than an hour.

Jet said goodbye to Tony about an hour ago. They had a homicide that needed to be put to bed because it dragged on for a month already. Just then his phone rang.

"Gibbs."

"Still the same," Vance replied. "How are you doing?"

"Old habits are hard to break. Doing well. Waiting for my daughter to wake. What's up Leon? You never call unless…"

"Ziva is missing," Vance replied. "She was on a stakeout with Charles MacMillan. They were watching a suspect involved in a case where he murdered a Gunnery Sergeant Henry Claval. The agents were waiting for him to come home. Ziva went to pick up coffee and she never returned. I have both teams out looking for her."

"Do you think she was 'wrong place wrong time'?" Gibbs asked. He then came across the murder article of Claval. "I just came across the article in the Post. What do you need Vance?"

"I could use your help on this one. You of all people know how Ziva operates. I could use Tony's help also if he can get away for a while."

"Could you give me a few hours?" Gibbs asked.

"I can do that," Vance replied. "Give me a call back."

"Will do," Gibbs said. He hung up his phone and was thinking when Justin came in the room with his daughter, Robyn.

"Morning, Jet," Justin said. He saw the look on Jet's face. "What's wrong?"

"Morning, Justin. Got a call from Vance in DC. Ziva is missing. They were staking out a suspect involved in a case of a murdered Gunnery Sergeant Henry Claval. It's here in the paper. Vance needs my help along with Tony's. We knew her the longest."

"Then go. I will look after the kids with MJ's help."

"Did I hear my name?" MJ asked as she entered with a pot of coffee.

Jet explained to MJ what was going on.

"Then go," MJ said. "Justin's right. We'll look after the kids."

"Thanks," Jet replied. Just then he heard Katie over the monitor.

"I'll get her," Justin said. "You go talk to Tony." Justin put Robyn in her chair and went to get Katie.

Jet got up and headed to the precinct. When he entered, he walked right into Tony's office.

"Jet what's wrong?" Tony asked. "It's not one of the kids?"

"No. I just got a call from Vance. Ziva's missing. He wants us there to find her. We knew her best so he needs our help. Justin said he would look after the kids."

"Let's go to the Chief," Tony stated. "We just wrapped up our case. We caught the dirt bag."

They headed to the Chief's office. When the PA saw them coming, he waved them through.

Carl looked up from his desk as his door opened. He saw Jet and Tony.

"Morning," Carl said. "Something's wrong." He could tell by the looks on their faces.

"A former teammate in DC has gone missing," Jet stated. "Ziva was on stakeout when she went for coffee and never returned. They were looking into the murder of a gunnery sergeant."

"Have you finished your case, Tony?" Carl asked.

"Yes, got him late last night."

"Then go. I know they were like family so your PA can handle anything. Don't come back until you find her."

"Thanks Chief," Tony replied. Both men left the office and returned to Tony's office.

Tony motioned his PA into his office and told him the circumstances.

"I'll look after things here. If you need our help, phone."

"Thanks, Patrick, I will." Tony then turned to Jet. "Let's go home and pack." 

"Knowing Justin, he's done that already," Jet replied. "He's quite the young man to know people's needs."

"And that's why I love him," Brian said as he entered the office. "What's up?"

Tony told Brian what's happened.

"Then go," Brian said. "We'll look after the kids. The office is slow right now so I'm only going to put in for half days. Cynthia will call if I get a case."

Tony and Jet got into their respective cars and headed home. Gibbs called Vance back and told him they would be arriving shortly. At the same time Vance told Gibbs that Ducky offered them a place to stay at his house. They found their clothes packed along with a garment bag sitting at the entrance.

"I got a call from Carl," Justin said. "I have you both booked on a flight in two hours to DC. Your boarding passes are at the gate."

"Thanks Justin," Tony replied. He was amazed at the things this young man could do.

"If you need any help during the case, call," Justin stated. "I'm good at doing research and you know about Brian's specialty."

"Thanks again," Tony replied.

They picked up their suitcases after kissing their daughter and headed towards the airport. Tony showed his badge knowing he could board with his gun. Upon arriving at Dulles around noon, they got off the plane and picked up their luggage. Tony was about to call for a cab when he saw McGee standing there.

"Probie!" Tony yelled as he gathered McGee in his arms. "Man, it's good to see you."

"You to, Tony," McGee snickered at the old nickname. Then he looked at Gibbs. "Good to see you Boss, I mean Gibbs." McGee took their bags and placed them into the trunk. He then made his way into the NCIS car.

"McGee," Gibbs said. "Under the circumstances, it's okay. Sit-rep."

"Well," McGee began as they got in the car and headed to the Navy Yard. "After we found out that our suspect killed Gunnery Sergeant Henry Claval, we were trying to find him for questioning. Ziva and Mac were on stake out at a house where we knew the suspect was hold up. There were no lights on in the house. It was early morning when Ziva decided to go for coffee and she never came back. The coffee house was two doors down from the car."

"Did she enter the coffee house?" Tony asked from the back seat. He was looking through the file McGee handed him on Claval.

"We asked at the counter if anyone saw her and one of the baristas, Megan Manning, said she saw her head to the bathroom but she never saw her after that. She thought she just wanted to use the facilities."

"Tell me about Gunnery Sergeant Henry Claval," Gibbs asked.

"He retired from the marines six months ago. He has coffee with his neighbor each Sunday, retired Lieutenant Commander Steven Constantine. When the lieutenant went over, he found the door open which was unusual. He then proceeded into the house and found Claval on the kitchen floor bludgeoned to death. He then called the local LEO's and they called us. Ducky found on his body a small cross between his toes on his right foot during autopsy. He was stabbed over forty times to the chest. One was to the back of the neck, severing the spinal cord. This made him immobile."

"Who's this suspect you have under surveillance?" Gibbs asked.

"His name is Malcolm Gross. He's 48 years old, white male, 5' 10", went to Philadelphia University and dropped out after 3 years. He was studying pre-med. Wanted to become a doctor. He was kicked out for doing mutilations to animals."

McGee then heard Tony on the phone.

"Justin, Gibbs told me you wanted to help? Get me everything you can find on a Malcolm Gross. I also want you to search the data base for anything with a Celtic cross between the toes of the right foot. Something tells me this is not the first time. Thanks."

"Why are you giving him pertinent information on an active case?" McGee asked.

"Because him and Brian have certain skills sets that come in handy when you work with the local LEO's. They have helped us on numerous cases. They can find things that even we don't think about. Brian has picked up on a lot of things since he started his PI business. Justin is great at doing research. He will get me that info. Also the Private Investigative Services has a database that's connected with other PI's. They have extensive resources."

"Okay," McGee replied. "Then let's get to the bull pen and we'll fill you on the crime scene photos. They are pretty gruesome. How do you know there are other crime scenes?"

"One thing is that a criminal never marks the body unless he wants to continue on with his victims," Tony replied. "By branding the skin, he's marking his territory. Plus the body being stabbed many times shows frustration. He's mad at the world. Maybe it has to do with him being thrown out of university."

"That makes sense," McGee replied. "Before I forget, the Director wants to see both of you."

They all entered into the bull pen. Everyone who knew them greeted them. Gibbs and Tony went right up to the director's office. Upon entering, the secretary nodded them to go inside.

"Vance," Gibbs said as he shook his hand.

"Gibbs, DiNozzo," Vance said as he then shook Tony's hand. "I take it McGee filled you in what is going on?" He then reached into his drawer and pulled out two badges with one gun. "These are yours temporarily for this case. I got SecNav's go ahead."

"Does she know the suspect?" Tony asked.

"Other than being on our radar, no," Vance replied. "We canvassed the area and no one saw her being taken. We think he got the drop on her after she came out of the bathroom. McGee looked at the video and saw her go to the back and then nothing. There are no cameras outside the building."

"I put in a call to Justin to get us everything on Malcolm Gross and any other cases on the Celtic cross tattoo," Tony explained. "Before you ask, they have skills they have honed since I've been in Pittsburgh. They also have a data base that conforms to PI's. Those two have helped on many cases with the Police department."

"Good," Vance replied. "We could use all the help we can get. Now, let's go downstairs and we'll fill you in what we have so far."

The three men entered the bull pen and stood in front of the plasma. McGee took up the clicker and showed them crime scenes of Gunnery Sergeant Henry Claval. Both MCRT teams were standing behind them.

"After getting a call from Claval's neighbor, we arrived on scene to this." Pictures of the gruesome scene were on the screen. "There were over forty stab wounds to the back and front including one at the back of the neck which severed his spinal cord to make him immobile. It was like a blood bath inside. We also found a tattoo imbedded between his toes. How did you know it was a Celtic cross, Tony?"

"You forgot that I went to England for my Uncle Clive's funeral. There, I saw many Celtic Crosses on tombstones. Is Malcolm Gross born of Irish or English descent?"

"He was Irish on his mother's side," McGee replied.

Just then Tony's phone rang. He stepped to the side and talked to the other person. He nodded and then thanked the person.

"McGee, Justin just sent you files on Malcolm Gross. He also sent you seven files on anyone who was stabbed to death multiple times with a Celtic cross tattooed between their toes. They range in age from sixteen to sixty-six. So he's not going with a specific age or group. The victims are both male and female. The cases go back to March 20, 1995. He's sending the autopsy files to Ducky and lab results to Abby."

"This is really going to help," McGee replied as he got on his computer.

"Was there any blood at the scene of where Ziva was taken?" Gibbs asked Balboa.

"No, but we did find a cloth on the floor and bagged it. Abby said that it contained chloroform. He must have gotten the jump on her when she came out of the bathroom."

"Is there anything on the traffic cams?" Gibbs asked.

"No. He must have known about them because we can't find him on any of them around the coffee shop."

While they were talking, McGee printed out the files on the other victims. The files also contained pictures of the crime scenes. He put these up on the plasma.

As all the agents were looking at the crime scenes, not a word was said but everyone thought the same thing: hoping that Ziva didn't turn up this way.

Tony thought of many things but he didn't want to think the unbelievable. He may have had his time being harassed by Ziva but he would never want this to happen to her.

For the next two days, they exhausted all their leads until McGee came up with something they never thought of before.

During that time, Ducky and Abby were busy with the autopsy reports and the forensics. After their findings they went up to the bull pen.

"Ducky, what do you got?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I conferred with the other ME's about the autopsies and we all agreed that the stabbing was done with one knife. I took a molding and sent it to Abby. I also compared the tattoo in each case and they are identical. I also found no less that fifty stab wounds on each of the victims. With that amount of rage, something set him off."

Just then Abby joined the crew.

"I found that the knife you are looking for is a tactical knife with a fixed blade used for survival. Its blade length is 6 inches and 2 inches wide at the widest point. The knife length is 11 inches long with a width of ¼ inch. It has a titanium coating and weighs 13 oz. After looking at the wounds on the bodies, I found out that there is a curve on the blade at the handle. It's used for cutting. I also found out there was different blood samples at the scene other than the victims. It could belong to our suspect. I have it running as we speak."

"Then we know what to look for," Gibbs replied.

"Boss, I found something," McGee said. "I came across a house in Gross' mother's maiden name. He got possession of it in 1993. It's located in Frederick, Maryland."

"Vance," Gibbs said.

"Gibbs, DiNozzo, Balboa, and Marshall will go to the house. The rest of you will go through the files that Justin and Brian sent. I want a link to the knife used and check out the crime scenes that are close. Also check with the police about the cases. McGee, get us everything on his mother."

"On it, Director," McGee replied as he sat at his desk.

"Take these with you," Abby said as she pulled out mics for each of them to wear.

Tony got on the horn and called the local police for help. He asked if they could spare some officers to help guard a house that was going to be searched so that no one entered. As the four NCIS agents entered the house, they could smell a pungent odor in the air.

Tony pulled out a small bottle of Vicks. He put a small amount under his nose and passed the bottle to Gibbs.

"What is this?" Gibbs asked.

"It's used to take the smell out of the air. I learned this from the ME in Pittsburgh."

As they worked through the house, they each cleared the rooms. It wasn't until Tony made it to the basement and opened the door. An over powerful smell hit him in the face. The smell even came through the Vicks under his nose.

"Gibbs," Tony whispered into his mic. "I think I found something." He then turned on the light.

The four agents gathered at the door. Tony took lead and they all proceeded down the stairs with their guns drawn. When they got to the bottom, they noticed it was filled with stuff that any household would discard to the basement.

Each agent took a direction. When Tony arrived beside Gibbs, they came across skid marks on the cement floor. Tony looked to Gibbs and they grabbed the edge, moving the cupboard. It gave away and the cupboard revealed a door.

They pointed their guns until Tony opened the door. What they saw would have made you lose your lunch and more.

Every surface was covered in blood. As they made their way into the room, there was a table in the centre. On each of the walls were all kinds of knives. Some had blood on them and some didn't.

Balboa and Marshall left the house to gather up their packs that contained everything they needed to use at a crime scene.

Tony and Gibbs took their cameras and began taking pictures before the other two began to bag and tag. Balboa and Marshall got out their kits and produced many plastic bags to put the knives inside.

After taking pictures of the table, Tony and Gibbs began swabbing blood. After they were finished, they had over three dozen samples. Then Tony took pictures of the table again to show where each sample was taken. He then drew a sketch of the table and labeled the table to where they drew their samples from.

On the other side of the room, they found a chair covered in blood. Each arm of the chair held a rope as well as each leg at the front. Balboa took a large plastic bag and Marshall put the chair inside.

They took all their evidence and put it in the back of the van. Tony, Gibbs and Balboa went back upstairs to check out if there was anything missed. Marshall took the evidence back to the crime van.

Gibbs checked the kitchen while Tony and Balboa checked the bedroom and living room. As Balboa was searching the bedroom, he pulled out a dresser drawer, only to have it stick. He tugged on the drawer and it knocked him on his ass. On the underside there were about a dozen driver's licenses taped to the bottom.

"Hey, Tony, I found something," Balboa shouted. He got up off the floor and set the drawer on the bed. He took out his camera and took pictures of the licenses.

"What did you find?" Tony asked.

"I found many drivers' licenses belonging to other people. Seven belong to our victims."

"We will need to check these out. I bet you that these are his other victims. Let's bag the drawer and get this to the Yard." Tony pulled out a large bag from his evidence kit and they put it inside.

Balboa took the drawer to the van as Tony went to tell Gibbs of the drawer.

"Did you find anything?" Tony asked as he looked at the dirty dishes in the sink.

"No," Gibbs said. "How about you?"

"Balboa found about a dozen licenses taped to the bottom of a drawer. We think there are other victims of this crime."

"Then we should get all this back to Abby," Gibbs replied.

"Then let's go," Tony said.

They got the evidence back to the Yard. Abby was going to have a field day with the blood work.

After dropping the evidence off at Abby's lab they all went to the bull pen. There each of them grabbed a coffee that was waiting for them.

"Boss, I found out where all this rage came from," McGee began to say. "Malcolm Gross was born November 5, 1968 to a woman, Sherri Gross, maiden name Cooper. When Malcolm was 5 years old, he watched as his mother was slashed to death the same way as our victims. She was also raped. After his mother died, he was put into foster home after foster home. Psychologists believe that the site of his mother's murder is what put him into trouble. In school, he had great marks but when not in school, he was a hell raiser. He got into trouble with the law but when he turned eighteen, he mellowed out. When he went to Philadelphia University, his grades were 4.0. He was kicked out after a professor found him mutilating the body of a cat. They didn't press charges and he was expelled. After that, he found out that his mother's house never sold. There is a clause in every sale that potential buyers are told if there were any crimes. So after a few years, they took it off the market. It was left to Malcolm."

Just then Ken Petit and Charles MacMillan came walking into the bull pen. Hearing the tail end of the conversation, Ken spoke up.

"I found out at the police departments that we went to; there was no blood at the crime scenes except for Claval's. It was as if the bodies were dumped there."

"That will explain what we found at the house of Gross," Tony replied. "Balboa found drivers licenses tape to the bottom of a dresser drawer. We also found out where they were killed. The basement held a secret room behind a cupboard. When we opened it we found this." He went to a computer and loaded the pictures up on the screen.

The others were looking at a blood bath. The room was covered in blood.

"Ken, Mac, could you both take the picture of the licenses and find out if they are missing or murdered?" Gibbs asked. "I also want a BOLO out on this scumbag."

"On it Boss," they said together.

Gibbs snickered at the nickname.

Just then, McGee's computer pinged. He went over to it and smiled. "I found another building that the Gross family owned. It goes back to his grandfather. It's a warehouse in Alexandria."

"Let's go," Gibbs replied.

Everyone geared up except Ken and Mac. They decided to stay back to work with the licenses.

They all arrived at the same time. Gibbs, Tony, Balboa and Marshall arrived in the sedan. McGee, Barrett, and Dornegat arrived with the evidence van. Ducky and Palmer arrived a few minutes later.

The agents broke up into two groups: Tony, Gibbs and Dornegat took the front door and the rest partnered up to go around both sides of the building.

As the three entered the front, Tony looked to Gibbs.

"I recognize that smell," Tony whispered.

Gibbs nodded as they entered with their guns raised. They moved further into the warehouse and Gibbs noticed a room off to the side. He watched as the other two teams entered from the back door. Gibbs nodded his head as he took point. He opened the door with the others behind him.

What they came across was something only seen in horror shows.

There was blood everywhere. There was even blood on the ceiling. They also noticed that there was a chair with ropes around the front legs and arms like the one they found in the basement of the house.

As Tony and Gibbs rounded each corner of the desk that was near the back wall, they came across Ziva's body. She was lying on her front and naked.

Tony turned his back not wanting to see her like this.

McGee saw the look on Tony's face knowing what he saw. He took Tony outside the room.

"How about we bag and tag along with photos while they work in there?"

"Thanks, McGee," Tony whispered.

Gibbs and Balboa went back to the evidence van and grabbed their gear. Gibbs took photos of Ziva's body while Balboa bagged and tagged. Dornegat, Barrett and Marshall took the exterior of the building.

Gibbs called Vance letting him know they found Ziva.

When Ducky arrived, he couldn't believe the amount of blood that was in the room. He waited until blood was collected at the scene before him and Palmer could get to her.

"Oh, my dear, what has he done to you?" Ducky asked Ziva's body. "Palmer, can you help me turn her over?"

"Yes doctor," Palmer replied as he got to the other side.

They both turned her body over. What they saw almost made Palmer sick. Her face was slashed almost to the point of no recognition. Her body contained many slash marks that were not deep enough to cause death. They looked like a form of torture. Ducky noticed that there were numerous stab wounds done to her body.

Ducky and Palmer moved so that Gibbs could photo her body. He saw many bodies in his life but none with this amount of damage.

Ducky put a livor probe into her. "She's been dead about five hours."

"But she's been gone three days!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"We now know what he was doing to her," Ducky said. "I wonder if he tortured any of his other victims. I will check on that when I get back. Mr. Palmer, let's be gentle with her."

"Yes, Doctor," Palmer agreed.

They placed her body gently on the plastic. They bagged her hands and got her into a body bag. Ducky and Palmer got her into the van and left the crime scene.

Tony was bagging a piece of paper when he saw something shining behind a crate. He looked closer and found a knife that was coated in blood. It was the knife that Abby described. There was even a bloody finger print on the handle. He got out his powder and lifted the print off the handle with a piece of tape. Bagging the knife, Tony walked over to McGee.

"I think I found the knife," Tony said as he showed it to McGee.

"I also found a couple of slugs on the wall along with the shells," McGee replied. "I don't think its part of the crime scene but there was blood on one of them. Maybe Abby can find out who was shot."

After all the evidence was gathered, the agents made their way back to the yard.

Abby was wringing her hands not wanting to hear that it was Ziva they found. When she saw them enter the bull pen, she saw the look on Tony's face. She ran over to him and hugged him. She let her tears fall.

"It's okay Abbs," Tony consoled her. "I need you at your best. I want this dirt bag. We have a lot of evidence from the crime scene for you to process. McGee also found slugs and bullet casings at the scene with blood on them."

"I'm going to do my best," Abby whispered. "For Ziva."

"For Ziva."

Abby went down to her lab as Tony walked over to Ziva's desk.

"Tony, you alright?" Gibbs asked as he put his hand on Tony's back.

Tony looked up to him with tears in his eyes.

Gibbs looked to Vance and Vance nodded. Gibbs took Tony's elbow and led him up to Vance's office. As soon as the door closed, Tony went into Gibbs' arms and cried. All Gibbs could do was hold his lover and friend.

"It's going to be okay," Gibbs whispered as he rubbed Tony's back.

"How can it be okay?" Tony yelled. "He killed her!" He dislodged himself from Gibbs and started pacing. "How could he have done this to her? She never deserved this from anyone."

Just then Vance entered his office. He walked over to his desk and pushed a button which closed down the office from the outside. It put Vance's office in secure mode.

"I now have the office secured so go ahead and shout," Vance stated. He knew Tony needed to get things out of his system.

"How did you know?" Tony asked.

"Because when I get frustrated from cases, I do the same thing. No one can hear you scream from the outside."

"How could he do this?" Tony asked again. "She did not deserve this. Where were her ninja skills she talks about all the time? How did he over power her?"

"He got the drop on her when he used chloroform," Gibbs answered. "He came up behind her. She didn't expect him to be so close. With her unconscious, she couldn't put up a fight."

Vance sat at his desk watching his former agents until he saw the head slap behind Tony's head. His eyebrows almost crawled up into his hairline.

"Tony, we need to stick to the case," Gibbs stated as he head slapped him.

"You don't get to do that here," Tony replied as he reached behind his head.

"I do when I need you to think straight," Gibbs replied. "We are treating this like a crime scene, not as Ziver's friends. You did the same thing when Kate died. We need to get into the game until Gross is caught."

Just then Vance's phone rang. He picked it up and then handed it to Gibbs.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Gibbs, I have been looking around for you," Abby stated. "I need you to come down."

"I'll be right there." Gibbs then turned to the other two. "Abby has something for us."

Vance released the security and they all walked over to the elevator to get to Abby's lab.

"What do you got Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he handed her a Cafpow.

Vance looked to Tony and Tony shrugged.

"Been a long time since I heard that," Abby stated and then turned to her computer. "I found out that one of the knives at the crime scene, the house, was an exact match to the wounds found on the victims. Also, I found that the unknown blood at the other seven crime scenes is a match to Gross. The house crime scene blood was a match to the other seven. This house is where he killed them. I did not find any of Ziva's blood at the house."

"Good work Abbs," Gibbs said as he kissed her cheek.

"I'm not done yet, Gibbs," Abby replied. "I also looked into the cross tattoo that was embedded between the toes. It is not a tattoo as we thought. I took a sample of the burn and put it through my babies and I found out it is not a tattoo but a branding iron of sorts. I discreetly asked my tattoo man about the cross and sent a picture over to him to look at. I did not tell him about the case. He got back to me a few hours later and he said it is a ring. He found out from his friends that this ring was specially made for a Sherri Gross. She was Malcolm Gross' mother. It was given to her by her father on her eighteenth birthday. Malcolm Gross must have found it in his mother's things and started using it on his victims. The evidence from the house, I take it you did not find the ring?"

"No we didn't," Tony replied as he stepped closer to look at the ring on the plasma in her lab. Tony turned his head when he heard a ding.

"That was fast," Abby replied as she walked over to her DNA machine. She took out the sheet of paper and looked at the results. "It says here that Malcolm Gross' DNA was at each crime scene including the warehouse."

"Great work Miss. Scuito," Vance stated. "Add a month's worth of Cafpows on me. This is excellent work."

"Thanks Director," Abby replied bouncing and smiling.

"Tony, Vance and I will go see Ducky and I want you upstairs in the bull pen checking out the BOLO's that have come."

"But Boss," Tony began to say.

"No buts," Gibbs replied as he took Tony's hand.

Abby smile when she saw the gesture. She loved seeing her guys in love.

Tony knew exactly what Gibbs was doing: making sure that he never had to see Ziva's body again. He gave Gibbs a peck on the lips and left.

"Aw that it so sweet," Abby whispered.

"Let's go Gibbs," Vance said and left the room.

"Thanks Abbs," Gibbs said and kissed her cheek before he left.

Abby went back to work with a smile on her face while she put her evidence together for their case.

When Tony got upstairs, people came forward and offered their condolences. He saw that every agent had the band across their badges to signify that one of their own was dead. He then did the same to his own.

Memories of him and Ziva crossed his mind as he made his way to her desk. He was going to clean it out but when he reached it, there was not a thing in sight except for the two monitors and a keyboard. He looked around until his eyes came across Mac's.

"Thanks Mac," Tony said as he sat at Ziva's desk.

"I didn't want you to have to do that, DiNozzo," Mac replied. "I know how close you two were. She spoke of you often. I needed to do this for my partner."

"How are the licenses coming along?" Tony asked.

"Ken and I found that the seven victims that Balboa found match up to the licenses," Mac replied as he took up a file from his desk.

When Ken heard his name, he walked over to Tony.

"We also found that the other five have been missing for as long as twenty years. Between the files your man sent over and today's crime scene, we found many gaps in between the other victims. We talked to their families and they have heard nothing from them."

"Then we need to find other properties that Gross owns," Tony replied as he picked up the phone. "Find out who Malcolm Gross' father is and see if he's around and any property he owns."

"On it," Ken replied. He went to his desk and got busy.

"Hey, Steve, Tony DiNozzo here."

"Hey Tony, I heard you're a Captain of the Pittsburgh Police Department. Nice going."

"Big job, but I have all kinds of help. Listen, anything on our BOLO yet? We just found one of our own as his victim, Ziva David."

"Tony, I'm so sorry. She will be missed. I was just about to call you on that. Yeah, I got a BOLO back on him. We have him in our jail right now. He was caught for speeding. Would you like for me to bring him in?"

"That would be great. I'll have an agent downstairs for you and you can get him into an interrogation room. I'll have two guards posted. Thank you, I owe you one."

"No you don't. Agent David may not be one of ours but she was law enforcement. You take care and if you need anything in Pittsburgh, call."

"I will my man." Tony hung up his phone and sighed. He called for an agent and two guards. He stood up from his chair and whistled. "Police caught Gross!"

Everyone stood and clapped. That was when Gibbs and Vance returned from autopsy and walked over to Tony.

"Gibbs, Director, Gross was caught. I just talked to Metro and they caught him speeding. He's being brought in by two cops. I've called for an agent to escort him with two guards to interrogation."

"Good work, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied.

"We'll let him stew in the room," Vance stated. "By the way, anything on the other licenses?"

"Yeah, Mac and Ken found out they were also missing and they haven't been heard from as far back as twenty years. They found gaps in the files Justin sent over. They think that he's killed these others in those gaps and no one has found the bodies. I've got Ken and Mac looking into Gross' father and his holdings."

"Good work," Gibbs stated.

Tony got up and went to talk to McGee. He heard a commotion at the elevator and watched as an agent escorted two police officers with a prisoner between them. Tony looked over to Gibbs.

Gibbs looked at Tony and nodded.

A short time later, Ken and Mac stood in front of Tony.

"We found an abandoned building in Fredrick, Maryland that still belonged to Gross' father, Joseph Gross. It used to be a slaughter house back in the fifties but was abandoned when Malcolm's father died on March 23, 1981. He died of a heart attack while moving meat. He left the building to his wife who in turned left it to her son."

"Tony, take Ken and Mac along with Balboa to the scene," Vance stated. "I want the building checked out."

"But what about Gross?" Tony stated angrily.

"He's not going anywhere," Vance stated. "We'll let him stew until you get back. Find out all you can at the site. I'll have Ducky on standby. Call if you find any bodies."

"Yes Director," Tony stated. He knew with his anger that he would be no good to anyone in the bull pen.

The four got into the car and went to the abandoned building. They arrived and took in the scene.

It was run down with grass growing as tall as three feet in places. The door contained a lock which Ken produced bolt cutters. He snapped the lock and the four of them entered with their guns drawn. What they came upon was horrendous.

The front of the room contained meat cutting machines with what looked like dried blood on them. Tony and Ken took one side while Balboa and Mac took the other side. Each came up with nothing in the way of dead bodies but they came across more dried blood. When they got to the back of the room, they came up to a door.

Tony nodded to Balboa who then opened the door. They all made their way inside.

It was a large room that contained two rows of hooks on each side. There was nothing hanging in the room but they spotted another door at the back.

After entering that room, they found dirt on the floor which contained five mounds. Balboa and Tony looked at each other knowing what the other said.

Balboa and Tony got down on the ground beside one of the mounds and began to lightly take the dirt away making sure that they disturbed nothing but the dirt. Tony made a final sweep of his fingers when he touched something. He looked up into Balboa's face and lightly brushed his fingers over the object. When he was done, he came upon a skull.

"Time to call Ducky," Tony replied as he stood. He wondered if these were the other five victims.

As Balboa made the call, they all walked out to get their gear. Balboa also called the local LEO's for a couple of officers to help guard the scene.

They started in on the machines in the front of the building making sure they got samples of all the blood that the machines held. Tony began to take samples as Ken took pictures of where the samples came from. As they worked their way through the room, Ducky and Palmer showed up with a gurney.

"You're going to need more of those," Tony stated. "We found five graves. I uncovered one grave to make sure we had our victims but we're not sure." Tony then proceeded to show Ducky the body.

"I'm going to need help then," Ducky replied. He then called Vance for reinforcements. After he got the go ahead, he then made another call. "Dr. Hampton, Dr. Donald Mallard calling. How are you?"

"Ducky, it's so good to hear your voice," Jordan replied. "I'm doing great. Something's the matter. You need my help."

"Yes, my dear, I do at that." He then filled her in on the case. "What I need is for you to come down to the crime scene and give us a hand. I have five bodies that have been buried and you're the closest one I know that knows how to handle this one. Bring anyone you can trust."

"I'll be right there. Don't touch anything until I get there."

"I'll wait for your arrival then." Ducky gave her the address before he hung up. "Dr. Jordan Hampton is on her way."

"Why her, Dr. Mallard?" Palmer asked. He always loved Ducky's stories.

"Well my friend, she is the closest person I know that can work with this kind of scene. You see, before she became an ME, she dabbled in forensic anthropology. I looked her up when we got that case that involved a John Doe who had mercury in his brain. You remember, the one where the man was used by the FBI to start a new life. Anyway, we got to know one another and she told me the reason she left the other job was because someone took her work and presented it as their own. She didn't have her name on anything and she up and quit. She took the job as ME because she didn't have to answer to anyone but herself. Jordan knows how to handle a case just like this. How about you go get us coffee before she shows up. She takes her tea like mine: steeped."

"I can do that," Palmer replied and left to find a coffee shop.

A few minutes later, Ducky watched as Jordan pulled up with a couple of others in her vehicle. It was this time that Palmer arrived with coffee and tea for the rest of them.

"Jordan, it's good to see you," Ducky said as he kissed her cheek.

"Ducky, good to see you also," Jordan replied. "This is Dr. Emile Houston and Dr. Jerry Collar. I worked with them before and trust them. Jerry, Emile, this is Dr. Donald Mallard."

"Your reputation proceeds you, Dr. Mallard," Jerry replied. "We both were in one of your classes you lectured in at Washington University."

"Good to know," Ducky said. "We have a crime scene people. NCIS is working an investigation where the victims were slashed at the criminal's home and then dumped. In the back of this building, Captain Anthony DiNozzo showed me five graves. He thinks they are the missing people that our criminal killed."

"Then let's get to work," Jordan replied. She then turned to Ducky. "Captain Anthony DiNozzo?"

"Yes. When Anthony left here he got a job in Pittsburgh at the Police Department. He came back for this case. One of the victims was Ziva David."

"Oh Ducky, I'm so sorry," Jordan replied.

The three anthropologists got out their gear and proceeded into the building. They passed the investigators working the front until they came up upon the five graves. Between Jordan, her colleagues, Ducky and Palmer, they uncovered each body. They took care of the bodies and transported them to Ducky's lab where each of them got to work on a body even Mr. Palmer.

After Tony and the others finished up with the crime scene, they arrived back at the bull pen just before midnight. They were all exhausted.

During this time, Vance and Gibbs decided to put Gross into holding until the agents came back from the crime scene. Vance watched as the agents returned.

"How about we pick this up in the morning?" Vance asked. "You all look to need some sleep."

"Sounds good to me," Tony replied. He was not going to argue with Vance. The scene took a lot out of them.

Gibbs and Tony went to Ducky's to sleep. They were both exhausted.

Tony went to the fridge and took out a couple bottles of beer and handed one to Gibbs. They didn't talk about the case because if they did, they knew neither one would sleep.

The next morning they both arrived at the Yard. When they entered the bull pen, they saw Ducky there along with Jordan. From the looks on their face, they knew it was not good news.

"Morning," Gibbs said as he took a sip of his coffee before putting his coat over the filing cabinet at Ziva's desk.

"Morning, Jethro," Ducky replied. "We just finished the autopsies and we have identified the last of Gross' victims. They were in fact the last five names that the licenses showed."

"Agent Gibbs," Jordan began to say, "The only way to identify the victims was through dental. After receiving the dental work x-rays, we determined that the five bodies downstairs were in fact the victims that were never found. On each of the bodies we found knife marks on the ribs. Abby is running the evidence to see if the knife she has in her lab matches the marks left on the bones."

"Good work you two," Gibbs replied. "Now we just need to interrogate the scumbag."

Tony put together the files that would be needed for the interrogation. He came up with quite a stack. He then handed them to Balboa.

Balboa looked at Vance and saw the nod. He then turned to Gibbs.

"Gibbs," Balboa started to say, "I want you to interrogate Gross. I was trained by the best when you left now I want to see you do your best. I know you can get anyone to talk. The rate you had when you were lead agent was outstanding. We need to put this man away or dead. Dead would be better. Besides, none of the crimes were in the District of Columbia."

"Are you sure?" Gibbs asked as he took the files. "I might be a bit rusty."

"I'm sure," Balboa replied. "Rusty might be good."

Gibbs nodded and took the files to Ziva's desk and began to read. He put on his glasses and looked up. No one was around as they were all working at their desks.

A couple of hours later, Gibbs was in interrogation sitting on the opposite side of their suspect. All he saw was the man who murdered Ziva. He opened a file and began going through it knowing he was killing time by making Gross wait.

Gross watched as a man sat across from him and he was looking at the file upside down. He watched each picture. The people he killed over the years appeared before his eyes. Then they were turned so that each was facing him.

"Do you know any of these people?" Gibbs asked.

The look that came across Gross' face was satisfaction knowing that he killed each one.

Then Gibbs pulled out Ziva's picture and put it on top of the others.

Gross took one look and smiled. "She was the exception. I had fun with her. She put up quite a fight."

Gibbs could feel his temper start to flare up but he held it in check until the right moment.

"How long have you being doing this?" Gibbs asked as he still looked at the file. He knew if he looked up, he would smack the guy into the next room.

"I don't know. Maybe after I got out under the last set of foster parents. I can't remember."

"You know damn well how long it's been. Serial killers know how long they kill. What you did is no different." Gibbs picked up another file and opened it. "I can tell you how long: since 1995. That's when you killed Leanne Legend. You waited for the right opportunity to know when she was alone. According to the police report, that was when her boyfriend walked her only half way home and you stepped up and kidnapped her. Our forensics expert found chloroform on a cloth from the crime scene of Miss. Legend. She was your first, wasn't she?"

"No," Gross whispered. "She's the first one that has the tattoo. I wanted to leave my mark in history so I took my mother's Celtic ring with the cross and used it on her."

Gibbs looked right at Gross. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Suspects never gave out information of their crimes. Why was he doing this?

Gross looked straight at the man across from him and put his face in his hands. He just realized what he said. Right now his only option was to face what he did. It was the only way he was going to get through this. He rose his head and looked right at his interrogator.

"Give me a pen and paper. I will write out what you want to know."

On the other side of the glass, there were four men present: Vance, Balboa, Tony and McGee. All four looked at each other with shocked looks on their faces.

"What the hell happened?" Balboa questioned. "It should have been hours before we got a confession! Gibbs still this good after all this time?"

"No," replied Tony. "Gross just figured out what he said to Gibbs. Gross never asked for a lawyer and he knows he's being recorded. He wants to make this as painless as possible and he's put families through enough grief. Gross also knows that he won't see the light of day when his confession hits the judge. He will ask his lawyer for the death penalty."

"How do you know that?" Vance asked.

"He wants his own suffering to stop," Tony answered. "He's never gotten over what happened to his mother. Why he killed women we may never know. Maybe he used them for practice. But with Ziva, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gross knew who she was and he had to eliminate her but he never realized that she was going to be his last victim."

"Balboa, could you go into interrogation and take over for Gibbs?" Vance asked. "This way, DiNozzo and Gibbs can write out their reports and get out of here since there will be no court." Vance then turned to Tony. "Why don't you and Gibbs come see me after?"

"Thanks Director," Tony replied. He left observation and went to get Gibbs as Balboa followed him.

Balboa walked into the room and nodded towards the door to Gibbs.

When Gibbs heard the door open, he saw Balboa nod towards the door. He got out of his seat and exited the room. On the other side he saw Tony.

"Vance wants us to write up our reports and then go see him."

"It should have taken me longer to interrogate him!" Gibbs exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"

"Gross realized what he said and gave it up. He knew he would never be getting out of prison. I think he will ask the judge for death. Vance wants to talk to us before we go."

"Then let's go," Gibbs replied.

They took up two desks and began their reports. It took them an hour.

As Tony's report was being printed, he watched as Balboa and two guards escorted Gross to hold up. It was just then that he heard a gun shot ring out in the elevator. He drew his gun and made his way to the elevator along with Gibbs and Mac.

The doors opened and inside, they saw Gross on the floor with a wound to the stomach.

"What the hell happened?" Tony asked as he bent to the floor to check on Gross. He found him dead.

"I got into the elevator first then Gross," Balboa began to say. "As I turned around, he grabbed my gun and we wrestled for it. I must have turned it on him not wanting to get shot. He had his finger on the trigger and pulled."

Meanwhile, Gibbs called Ducky and Palmer to the scene.

Vance arrived when he saw a commotion at the elevator. People made a path for him. He saw blood pooled around the wound on Gross and on Balboa's shirt.

After everything was done, Tony and Gibbs wrote up another report to confirmed what they saw at the elevator. They put everything into a file and handed it off to McGee. They made their way up to Vance's office.

Inside the office, Vance was just sitting down at his desk when his door opened. He watched as Gibbs and DiNozzo took up chairs in front of his desk.

Nothing was said as Vance pulled out a bottle of bourbon and poured three glasses. He raised his glass.

"To Miss Ziva David, may she rest in peace."

They each downed their drinks and set the glasses on Vance's desk.

"I want to thank you for solving this case. Without some of the skills that were needed, well let me just say a job well done. While you were interrogating Gross, Gibbs, I had Mac, Ken, Dornegat and Barrett go through Gross's place that Ziva and Mac were staking out and they found the ring. Miss Scuito put it through her machines and found that it contained blood from the last victim, retired Gunnery Sergeant Henry Claval. Now with Gross dead, there won't be any court. I also got the report on the shooting in the elevator. Miss Scuito confirmed that Gross's finger was on the trigger. Somehow he knew he wasn't going to make it out of jail so he went out his way. Case closed.

"I want to thank you for coming here to help with this case. Ducky suggested that we put together a small service in his back yard for Miss David. This way we can each say our goodbyes to her."

"I think that is a wise choice." Tony replied.

"I have called Orli Elbaz of Mossad and she wants Ziva's body home." Vance poured each of them another drink and took a sip of his drink. "She wants to rest Ziva beside her family. She was the last member of her family. I have released her body and she is being flown home as we speak. Mossad will have a service for her there."

"I think she would have loved that," Gibbs pointed out. "She talked about Mossad as if she lived it. That is one thing that will never leave her, even now."

"On another note," Vance began to say as he reached into a desk drawer. "I have something here for each of you. Since SecNav okayed you on the case, he thought it reasonable to give you a consultation fee. You can do with what you like."

They each opened their envelopes and saw the amount. Tony looked to Gibbs and nodded. They each took out their cheque and endorsed it in front of Vance.

"We had a conversation about this if it happened," Tony said. "We want to give it to the Victims Fund."

"Are you sure?" Vance asked as he took each cheque.

"Yeah" Gibbs replied. "The ranch makes enough that neither of us needs to work but I know Tony would get bored at home so I don't need to tell him."

"It will go towards a good cause," Tony replied.

"I'll see to it that it is donated to them." Vance came around to the front of the desk. "I want to thank you both again for what you did to bring Ziva's killer even though he took his own life." Vance shook each of their hands.

Just then a knock was heard at his door. "Come in."

Ducky entered and closed the door.

"I just want to say that we will hold a service for Ziva later tonight. I have invited both MCRT teams plus Abby. I suggest we go home and get ready if that's quite all right with you two."

"That's fine, Ducky," Vance replied. "I will meet you there with the family."

"Service will start at 7 PM," Ducky stated. He then turned to Gibbs. "Would you both like a ride?"

"That would be great Duck," Gibbs replied. He then turned to Tony. "Did we bring suits?"

"No but Justin did pack a garment bag for us so I don't know what's inside it."

They arrived at Ducky's and went to shower and change. Tony saw people working, setting out food onto a long table with cloths covering the food.

The service was a bit long as each said their goodbyes to Ziva. A picture of her was on a table with a bouquet of cyclamen, the state flower of Israel, along with a small flag of the country.

After the service, everyone from both MCRT teams and Ducky, Gibbs and Tony, sat in Ducky's living room.

"Jethro, when are you both leaving?" Ducky asked as he sipped his tea.

"First thing in the morning," Gibbs replied. "This is the first time we've been away from Katie for this long and I miss her."

"As you should," Ducky replied. "You were given a second chance at having a family and they definitely are precious at this age. She's not even a year old. Can you imagine the types of things she's learning at her age?"

"Yeah," Tony spoke up. "She calls me Papa. I caught her saying 'no' to MJ a few days before we left. She wouldn't eat her peas."

"Is she on solid foods yet?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, but when she gets food on her table she mashes them and then eats it. When she got her peas in a bowl, she swiped her arm across the highchair table and everything ended up on the floor."

"I don't want you to think I'm butting in here…" Ducky began to say.

"No, please butt in," Tony replied. "I don't know what to do."

"All right. What I would suggest is to coarsely mash up her food so that she sees both the mashed part as well as what the food it represents. This way when in about a month or so, she will realize that the food is no longer mashed and she will see that it's still the same food she loves."

"I never would have thought of that," Tony replied. Just then he heard a chuckle. "What are you laughing about? You knew that all along!"

"Well, yeah, I did have a daughter before and I wanted you to learn this experience first hand. These are the moments we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I wanted you to experience them along with me."

"He's right, by boy," Ducky said. "These are the times you, as parents, will get to experience what it's like to raise children. If you happen to adopt another child, Tony, you will have the experience to know about raising children. Just like Jethro said. He wanted you to experience what it is like to raise your first child."

"Thanks Ducky," Tony said.

"Now I see that everyone is ready to leave so shall we," Ducky stated as he rose.

They made their way to the front foyer and bid farewell to their friends and family. After all MCRT is not complete unless you are family.

Tony and Gibbs got an extra hug out of Abby.

"Now send lots of pictures of Katie. She is definitely a sweat child. Here." Abby handed over a gift for Katie. "It is something every girl should have."

"No tattoo stickers, piercing, or dog collars!" Tony stated as he took the box.

"I would never do that to my niece." Abby swatted him on the arm. "It's a few dresses that she can wear out to parties. I think she will look great in them. I want pictures of her in them."

"I will take lots of pictures, Abs," Gibbs replied as he kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"Now I must go," Abby replied. "I have an invitation to see the nuns and we are going to say an extra prayer tonight for Ziva."

"Thanks Abby," Tony replied.

Everyone left and Ducky bid them goodnight.

Gibbs and Tony went up to their bedroom with Tony draped partially over Gibbs.

"We should have everyone to the ranch for Christmas," Tony said.

"Yeah we should," Jet replied. "We have the room."

They both fell asleep.

The next morning they got on the plane with McGee taking them to the airport. They said their goodbyes again and hopped on the plane.

At the airport, Justin was there with Katie. When Katie saw her Dada and Papa, she squealed.

Tony heard a squeal and looked in the direction it came from. He ran up to Justin and took Katie in his arms. She put her face into his neck and breathed his scent. "Papa."

"I missed you." Tony held his daughter closer.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Jet asked.

Katie raised her head and went into her Dada's arms. She did the same to Jet and whispered, "Dada."

"Now let's get home," Justin stated. "MJ has lunch ready for us."

Upon arriving home, the four of them went into the kitchen. Jet watched as Brian was putting Robyn into her chair as Gus was helping MJ put things on the table.

"Hi," Brian said. "I'm sorry to hear about Ziva."

"Thanks, Carney," Tony said as he put Katie into her chair.

They sat at the table and began to eat. Tony put together Katie's food like Ducky said and he was amazed at how she looked into her bowl then at Papa. She took up her baby fork and began to eat.

Tony was amazed at how she would take her veggies out, inspect them, and then put them in her mouth. When she ate her food, Tony could hear her complement with a moan. This brought a smile to Tony's face.

"Ducky was right," Tony stated. He then told Brian and Justin about the food that Katie would knock to the floor.

"I could have told you that," Brian stated. "Have you seen Robyn pushing her food on the floor?"

"Come to think of it, no." Tony then looked at Jet.

"I remember when Gus used to do the same thing. It was a learning game with us. When you get it right the first time, you never forget."

"Thanks," Tony replied. "I'm new at this game so I expect some help if you don't mind."

Everyone at the table nodded even Gus.

"And how are you going to help, young man?" Tony asked Gus as Tony got more veggies for Katie.

"I will help you take care of her as I do with Birdy," Gus replied.

"Birdy?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, that's what I call her. She was named after a bird." Gus smiled as he was proud of his sister.

"Well then, I will seek your help, Gus," Tony replied.

"Just don't put a nickname on our daughter," Jet replied.

"Wouldn't hear of it," Tony replied.

Justin was sitting across the table from Tony and he looked straight into his eyes. They both nodded.

Jet and Brian watched the nod and looked at each other. They both shrugged their shoulders and let it go for now.

Right now Jet and Tony were with their family. Jet looked around the table and smiled. This was family.

THE END (?)


End file.
